Red Star over China

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Summary: An Interseting Look at What China Would Become
Review: As the first Western book to report on Chinese Communism and its leaders, this is no doubt a valuable masterpiece. But the reader must bear in mind that the Chinese people (even today) are experts in putting up a good face to impress people from the West. There was definitely some bias on the part of the author to paint Mao and his comrades as great and infallible. So a sensible reader should read this book with these in mind , observe what has happened in China since 1949 and reach his/her conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: good reporting
Review: As the first Western book to report on Chinese Communism and its leaders, this is no doubt a valuable masterpiece. But the reader must bear in mind that the Chinese people (even today) are experts in putting up a good face to impress people from the West. There was definitely some bias on the part of the author to paint Mao and his comrades as great and infallible. So a sensible reader should read this book with these in mind , observe what has happened in China since 1949 and reach his/her conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: A Unique Historic Document
Review: During a time, when hardly anyone knew that the red army had survived the long marsh and even fewer people expected the communists to play any significant rule in China's future, Edgar Snow travelled to the communist base in Ya'an. From his extensive interviews with Mao, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai and many others Snow compilled a book, which would became not only a unique histroric document but also proof to be an insightful guide to the psyche of China's Communist Party.

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Summary: Marxist Cheerleader
Review: Edgar Snow has the singular distinction of sharing the "Most Gullible Pseudojournalist of the Twentieth Century" award with fellow Marxist Step 'n' Fetchit Walter Duranty. Both of these servile creatures were exposed on a daily basis to the most violent totalitarian dictatorships in history (Duranty in Stalin's Russia, Snow in Mao's China), and yet seemed unable to comprehend the systems they confronted (the sheer body count might have tipped off the less clueless). Snow performed the valuable service of fending off Western inquiries about Mao's massacares and slave labor program by providing an intellectual shield. When he wasn't functioning as Mao's errand boy, he was spreading lies about communism throughout the West. Snow's intellectual pretentiousness, along with the general prediliction for all things left, gave the Western intelligentsia an excuse to avoid taking a very hard look at Chinese communism. Snow has the blood of millions on his hands, along with his fellow travelers.

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Summary: Spoke for the truth
Review: Edgar Snow writes a compelling account of the birth of Chinese Communism in his book Red Star Over China. His book is largely unprecedented because of the fact that China was only just parting from isolationism and had not previously allowed citizens of Western countries to enter into China. Snow moved near Yenching University in Shanghai, China to become a correspondent journalist there. The proximity to the university allowed Snow to meet many Chinese intellectuals and writers whom he would befriend. One of his most important friendships was with the Western-educated Madame Sun, the wife of Sun Yat-sen.

In the first part of Red Star Over China Snow begins by addressing some of the previously unanswered questions regarding Communist China. He uses a brigade of commonly asked questions to show just how uninformed many people were on topics such as the Red Army and the Communist Movement. He explains that in June of 1936, he received the opportunity to possibly answer some of these questions and that this is how Red Star Over China came into existence.

Edgar Snow describes his travels through China in first person. His details of the landscape of China, especially those of Sianfu, are very descriptive. As he took in the scenery, he expressed its beauty at length. Opium poppy fields and The Great Wall are among his most familiar sightings (page 54). This section of the book was important to international readers at the time it was written because, as previously discussed, many people knew nothing of China seeing as how its isolation had kept its landscape a mystery to many travelers. This narrative continues on through Snow's journey to the Red Capital.

Snow's account of his first night in "Red territory," meaning the Northern part of China en route to An Tsai, was full of fear. The "White Bandits" were said to be close and this created much uneasiness. Snow explains that White Bandits were the Kuomingtang's answer to peasant uprisings. An Tsai would be protected by the Red Army, and Snow and his traveling party would be safe there. Upon reaching An Tsai, a member of the Red Army met Snow and they sat down to what was described as a pleasant dinner.

Through Snow's writing, readers can see that the Reds treated him very well. "I have a report that you are a reliable journalist," says Chou En-lai to Edgar Snow, "friendly to the Chinese people, and that you can be trusted to tell the truth" (page 70). Chou went on to explain that the Reds did not care that Snow wasn't a member of their party, instead they embraced his presence and agreed to give him help to "investigate soviet districts" in Red China. This was particularly interesting because Communist China was known for its anti-foreign, almost xenophobic, attitude. To an extent, this documentation of trust between Snow and the Red leaders almost seems to be fictional. Perhaps, in this day and age, it can be said that Mao and his comrades may have been creating this friendship out of a quest for personal gains.

Continuously through Red Star Over China this "trust" is used to establish relationships with elite Red leaders. It is not entirely impossible that Snow was being used to convey a positive image of China to the Western world. It was, after all, Mao's regime that was concentrated on exceeding the state of the West to become a powerful global entity. Snow, in his chapter on basic Communist policies, documented this will to become a great power. He quotes Mao as saying, "When China really wins her independence, then legitimate foreign trading interests will enjoy more opportunities than ever before" (page 104). Mao seems to use Snow as a catalyst to invite other nations to establish friendly nations status with China. He is also quoted as saying that any country that chose to side with Japan would not be a friendly nation to China.

Mao spoke freely to Snow about his own life. In part four of Red Star Over China Snow discusses Mao's narrative at length. It is practically an autobiographical section of the book. If this is, in fact, the complete truth from Mao's perspective, then this section is most enlightening because it is written using Mao's taped narratives. As previously discussed, Mao had not spoken to any Western writers before Snow. Therefore, this section of the book provides readers with a new perspective of the Communist leader.

In addition to private conversations with Mao Tse-tung, Snow spoke with the Commander of the First Front Red Army, P'eng The-huai and also Lin Piao. Lin was Mao's closest cohort. He helped get Mao elected in 1935. Lin spoke to Snow and in section four, Lin's early life was revealed to readers. Lin proved to be a key player in China's Cultural Revolution. The background provided by Snow's personal discussions allow the reader to understand more about the personal aspects of the leaders of Communist China.

In Red Star Over China, Edgar Snow traces Mao's rise to power. He writes of the situation of China from a first-hand point of view. Snow's book, regardless of whether or not it was being used-unbeknownst to Snow-as a means of impressing the West, contributes a wealth of information about the changing times in China. Because Snow was a pioneer of sorts, the book is a great documentation to be used when researching the historical background of the current Communist China. Although it creates doubt as to whether Mao was completely truthful, Red Star Over China remains a great work regarding the history of the Chinese Communist Party.

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Summary: Most honest American journalist reported on Mao & CCP
Review: In this book, Red Star over China, Edgar Snow told everything the way it was, good and bad. Here is someone who has seen and been up close with Mao; witnessed Mao's personal life; travelled with the Red Army and discovered those "Red Bandits" really were good guys.

All the myths, lies, propaganda on Mao, Red Army, and Chinese communists invented by the west and Chiang Kai-shek were shattered and exposed by Edgar Snow's truthful reporting.

This is the very book that brought Nixon together with Mao, and started the China/USA diplomatic relationship. Edgar Snow was the American who peacefully helped the world's two superpowers in a peaceful solution.

Edgar Snow should have been given the Nobel Peace Prize.

Rating:
Summary: Spoke for the truth
Review: Snow spoke for the truth. He began his quest for truth with hundreds of questions. From the book, on page 36, "... it had been a crime punishable by death to be a Communist or a Communist sympathizer, and thousands had paid that penalty. Yet thousands more continued to run the risk. ... Why?"

In May 1949, when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered my hometown Shanghai after dark, the night was so quiet, it was hard to imagine that there had been a fierce battle going on in the outskirts of the city. The next morning when the local people woke up, to their surprise, they found that the PLA soldiers slept quietly and orderly outside on the street in order not to disturb the local people at home. It was quite a contrast to those fleeing KMT soldiers who demanded goods from them.

The answer to that aforementioned Snow's question: it was because people tried to save their beloved country and they didn't care about their own lives. Or in Mao's own words (page 136), "I felt depressed about the future of my country and began to realize that it was the duty of all the people to help save it." This is the story about these people.

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Summary: Snow's writing is truly captivating.
Review: Snow truly did Sinology a tremendous favor when he ventured into the soviet area years ago. Red Star Over China stands as an archetypical example of "pre-TV" journalism at its finest. Snow's captivating writing style allows the reader to truly feel as if they are riding along with the "red bandits" as they move through the hills of China conducting guerilla warfare. What Snow has to tell us about Mao, is as fascinating as anything that has been brought up about him in the post-Mao era. I would recommend this book to anyone, it is not just a history book, it, in itself is a part of history, truly a classic.

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Summary: Acquire a better understanding of the Chinese revolution
Review: With most Americans sadly ignorant of China and its past, this book provides an incredible inside look at the Chinese revolution and the beginning of communism. Snow's trip through rural provinces and villages during the country's civil war is an adventure in itself. The interviews he does with China's up and coming rulers are purely fasinating, allowing the western public its first chance to get to know such giants as Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai on a more personal level.

Rating:
Summary: Acquire a better understanding of the Chinese revolution
Review: With most Americans sadly ignorant of China and its past, this book provides an incredible inside look at the Chinese revolution and the beginning of communism. Snow's trip through rural provinces and villages during the country's civil war is an adventure in itself. The interviews he does with China's up and coming rulers are purely fasinating, allowing the western public its first chance to get to know such giants as Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai on a more personal level.